Ill. Justices Say Wage Law Doesn't Bar COVID Screening Pay

By Celeste Bott

The Illinois Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the state's minimum wage law doesn't incorporate the limitations on compensable preshift activities found in federal law, answering the Seventh Circuit's call for help determining whether Amazon must pay workers for time they spent undergoing preliminary COVID-19 screenings.

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Chance The Rapper Could 'Smell Court' Before Firing Manager

By Lauraann Wood

Chance the Rapper felt his once-close relationship with his former manager straining after he couldn't accept a Grammy Award on his own, but the rapper could really "smell court" once the manager sent a letter mischaracterizing their dynamic and the role he played in it, Illinois jurors heard Thursday.

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7th Circ. Dissenters: Due Process Row Deserved Rehearing

By Parker Quinlan

A trio of judges on the Seventh Circuit accused the full appeals court of cementing a circuit split with its sister courts by refusing to rehear a case about whether incarcerated people moved into disciplinary housing are entitled to formal due process hearings.

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States Sue To Block $6.2B Tegna Acquisition Despite Feds' OK

By Matthew Perlman

A coalition of state enforcers on Thursday sued to block Nexstar Media Group Inc.'s planned $6.2 billion purchase of rival broadcast company Tegna Inc., alleging the move would create a "broadcast behemoth" with the ability to raise television prices for consumers and control content.

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HHS Can't Block Trans Care Under Kennedy Edict, Court Says

By Ben Adlin

A coalition of 21 states and the District of Columbia prevailed on Thursday in their challenge to a Trump administration move to cut access to gender-affirming care for minors when an Oregon federal judge agreed to void a policy statement from Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

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States Join Push To Revive EPA Climate Danger Finding

By Julie Manganis

A coalition of state and local governments on Thursday became the latest group to ask that the D.C. Circuit overrule the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's rescission last month of its long-held position on the danger greenhouse gases pose to public health.

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Apple Gets Class Claims Axed From Storage False Ad Fight

By Dorothy Atkins

A California federal judge has tossed putative class claims from litigation accusing Apple of misrepresenting the storage capacity of certain iPhone and iPad products, finding the consumers' state claims are time-barred and weren't tolled by similar litigation filed over a decade ago, but some consumers can pursue their individual claims.

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CVS, Caremark Pocket Money Meant For Rebates, Suit Claims

By Emily Brill

CVS charges drug manufacturers "exorbitant" fees in exchange for pushing their products, then pockets the money instead of funneling it toward customer rebates as it promises, a federal lawsuit alleges, accusing the company of collecting billions of dollars at customers' expense and violating the anti-racketeering statute.

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Glock Ignored Unsafe Gun Defect, Class Action Claims

By Chart Riggall

Glock Inc.'s ubiquitous handguns contain a dangerous defect in their chamber design that can cause the gun to catastrophically explode on firing, according to a proposed class action lodged against the Georgia-based pistol manufacturing giant.

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Sandwich Co.'s Wage Disclosure Coverage Suit Gets Tossed

By Hope Patti

A sandwich chain can't proceed with a suit seeking coverage for a class action claiming it violated Washington's Equal Pay and Opportunities Act, a Washington federal court ruled Thursday, saying the underlying allegations do not fall within the policy's definition of discrimination.

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Trucking Co. Can't Get Drivers' Misclassification Suit Tossed

By Mike Curley

An Illinois federal judge on Thursday declined to dismiss a suit from drivers alleging Risinger Bros. Transfer Inc. misclassified them as independent contractors, saying the complaint sufficiently alleges they had an employer-employee relationship.

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Series

Coaching Soccer Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Coaching youth soccer for my 7-year-old son's team has sharpened how I communicate with clients, prepare witnesses, work within teams and think about leadership, making me a more thoughtful and effective lawyer in many ways, says Joshua Holt at Smith Currie.

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Sitting Judges Take Stand Over Threats Growing 'Ordinary'

By Jake Maher

On the heels of an ethics opinion giving them wider latitude to speak publicly, sitting federal judges brought attention Thursday to the increasing threats against them and their family members, warning about the dangers of such threats becoming "ordinary."

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Anatomy Of A Citation Hallucination: AI Edit, Associate Review

By Rachel Riley

Counsel for consumers in a supplement labeling lawsuit against Amazon responded Wednesday to a Seattle federal judge's order to explain an AI-hallucinated citation, saying the error was introduced by a generative artificial intelligence tool used to "harmonize" drafts of a brief, then missed by a fifth-year Boies Schiller associate tasked with checking the citations.

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Jackson Walker, US Trustee Reach Deal On Fee Settlements

By Vince Sullivan

The Office of the U.S. Trustee and law firm Jackson Walker LLP on Wednesday resolved the bankruptcy watchdog's opposition to a series of settlements tied to a romantic relationship between a former Jackson Walker attorney and a now-retired bankruptcy judge.

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Judge Quashes Subpoena Of 5 Firms That Repped Twitter

By Rae Ann Varona

A Delaware federal court ruled Thursday that six former Twitter employees cannot subpoena five law firms that represented the social media company in connection with its acquisition by Elon Musk, rejecting the employees' "conclusory allegations" that the company and Musk used the firms to make false promises of severance benefits.

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Nomination For New DOJ Fraud Chief Heads To Senate Floor

By Courtney Bublé

The nomination of Colin McDonald for the new position of assistant attorney general for fraud was sent to the full Senate on Thursday, after the Judiciary Committee voted 12-10 along party lines to advance his nomination.

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Judge Digs Into Counsel Over 'Astronomically High' Fee Bid

By Nadia Dreid

Attorneys who represented classes of people who say they received harassing phone calls from real estate agents in violation of federal telemarketing laws are asking for way too much of the $20 million settlement, according to the California federal judge who tore into them Wednesday.

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DOJ Antitrust Head Tells Staff: Don't Worry About Criticism

By Bryan Koenig

The acting head of the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division said Thursday that he pays no heed to criticism of the agency and tells staff to do the same, while asserting in Washington, D.C., remarks that there's no better time to come work for the DOJ.

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Fired 'Arctic Frost' Agents Accuse FBI Of Political Retribution

By Dorothy Atkins

Two former FBI agents who worked on the "Arctic Frost" investigation into President Donald Trump's attempts to overturn his 2020 election loss have accused the government of abruptly firing them in an unconstitutional act of "political retribution."

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